Courtney Conlogue,, of Santa Ana, is one of the world’s best females to compete at the U.S. Open of Surfing. (Photo by Ana Venegas, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

Pat Gudauskas, of San Clemente, leaps off a wave during the U.S. Open of Surfing. (Photo by Kyusung Gong, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Brazilian Filipe Toledo gets airborne during a past U.S. Open of Surfing event. (Photo by Michael Goulding, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

Kanoa Igarashi, of Huntington Beach, competes in round 3 of the men’s division during the Van’s U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. He has made it to the semi-finals the past two years. (Photo by Jeff Gretchen, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

Kolohe Andino, of San Clemente, competes in the Van’s U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gretchen, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

Kolohe Andino, of San Clemente, competes during the Van’s U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gretchen, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

Pat Gudauskas, of San Clemente, leaps off a wave during day 3 of Vans U.S. Open for Surfing at Huntington Beach. (Photo by Kyusung Gong, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

The U.S. Open of Surfing is anyone’s to win or lose – the chance for an unknown surfer to get hoisted up on the sand, or any of the world’s best to showcase to the surf world why they’re on top.

In all, about 200 surfers travel from around the globe to compete, some driving from up the street to take on the waves at the Huntington Beach Pier, others enduring long flights to hit the Southern California saltwater for the event.

The event is a QS10,000 for the men, which means big points for surfers looking to boost their ratings on the qualifying series, points that can also help some surfers maintain or nab a spot on the World Tour. For the women, it’s a World Tour contest, meaning big points as they battle in the race for a world title.

For the juniors pro event, some of the competitors aren’t yet old enough to drive themselves to the U.S. Open and have dreams of one day making it as a pro surfer. A good showing in the pro junior puts their name on the map and shows sponsors they are an athlete to be taken seriously.

That was once Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue, 24, who started competing in the event when she was a pre-teen.

“I look back at how long I’ve been involved in the U.S. Open of Surfing, and just the history of the whole event and all the different experiences I’ve had. It’s really special for me,” she said. “I grew up watching the U.S. Open and it was the first time I was involved with a high-rated, now World Tour event.”

Sorry surf fans, 11-time world champion Kelly Slater will again be a no-show. Though he won the event in 2011, he hasn’t shown up the past few years, and a recently broken foot will keep him out of the water for months.

But there are plenty of other surfers to cheer on, from locals to big names, to past winners and stand-out hopefuls. Here are just a few surfers to watch for:

HOMETOWN FAVORITES

Kanoa Igarashi of Huntington Beach has come painfully close to winning the past two years, stumbling in the semifinals of the men’s main event both times.

“It’s just fuel for the fire,” he said. “It will make the win that much sweeter when it comes.”

His first U.S. Open event was when he was 11, as an alternate in the juniors event.

“I skipped school, which was cool,” he said with a laugh.

Though he lost in the first round that year, it was the first time he got a taste of competing in a big event.

“It was a cool experience for me that I’ll never forget,” he said.

Eight years later, Igarashi, now 19, is ranked among the top 34 surfers on the World Surf League World Tour. He needs big points at the U.S. Open of Surfing to help boost him in the ratings to re-qualify.

“I feel really good, I have good boards at the moment. The forecast looks really good,” he said. “I have a lot of motivation. … I’m around friends and family and I can’t wait for the contest to get going.”

Another Huntington favorite is Brett Simpson, who has had a tough few years on the competitive circuit after falling off tour two years ago.

He regularly draws a crowd, including cheerleaders who hold up signs and do acrobatics on the sand. He won the event in 2009 and 2010.

Conlogue is hoping for a win in the event to boost her ratings in her run for a world title. The Santa Ana surfer is ranked fourth on the women’s World Tour.

She will go up against Ventura’s Sage Erickson and Australia’s Bronte Macaulay when the women’s event kicks off.

For Conlogue, it’s a nice break from traveling the world in a profession that takes her to the warm waters of Fiji and Hawaii to the coast of Australia.

“I was thinking about how much I compete everywhere else, it’s so cool to come back to your roots, to were you started,” she said. “The more I surf overseas, I appreciate surfing in front of my home crowd, at my home break. I haven’t competed in a while, I’m excited to put the jersey back on.”

There’s something about performing in front of that hometown audience that gives an added boost.

“They are on the pier, on the beach, it’s surrounding you,” she said of fans cheering. “It resonates through the water, I love to perform for an audience like that. It’s awesome, it’s fun and I’m looking forward to it.”

One of the perks of being home? Eating at her favorite spots, Sugar Shack for breakfast burritos and Bear Flag for their poke and seaweed salad.

SAN CLEMENTE STANDOUTS

A handful of surfers will be making the trek north from San Clemente for the event.

Kolohe Andino is the highest-ranked surfer from the United States on the World Tour at No. 14. He’s had strong finishes at the U.S. Open in the past, including making it to the final in 2013 before losing to Brazil’s Alejo Muniz. He’s the second-highest seeded surfer in the event, behind South Africa’s Jordy Smith.

Brothers Tanner and Pat Gudauskas are always standouts at the event, and both will be looking for a solid finish to earn points and try to make it back on the World Tour.

Griffin Colapinto is also a surfer to watch, turning heads at a big Hawaii event last winter when he pulled a near-perfect, big aerial for a 9.97 score on a wave that generated a lot of buzz and showed he’s ready for the big leagues.

O.C. TRANSPLANTS

It’s going to be hard to take down a streaking Filipe Toledo, the Brazilian who won the U.S. Open of Surfing title last year, his second win after a 2014 victory.

Toledo, who moved to San Clemente a few years ago, is also coming off a win at the Corona Open J-Bay, where his high-flying skills earned him a perfect-10 score after he propelled above the lip twice – and landed perfectly – on one wave. That victory put him seventh in the World Tour ratings.

Smith, a South African who also lives in San Clemente, is the top-seeded surfer at the event, at No. 3 in the world.

Florida surfer Caroline Marks, who moved to San Clemente a few years ago, will be defending her juniors title, which she earned for the second consecutive year in 2016. She’s no stranger to being lifted off the sand after victories at the Huntington Beach Pier, earning many national championships here on the amateur circuit.

“I’m super stoked and have a lot of confidence knowing this wave so well, so hopefully we get some fun swell for the event,” Marks, 15, said in an interview with WSL. “It feels like I’ve been surfing against these girls for so long already and it’s rad to know we’ll be battling for years to come.”

Laylan Connelly started as a journalist in 2002 after earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. Through the years, she has covered several cities for The Orange County Register, starting as a beat reporter in Irvine before focusing on coastal cities such as Newport Beach, Dana Point and Laguna Beach. In 2007, she was selected for a prestigious Knight New Media fellowship focusing on digital media at UC Berkeley, where she learned skills to adapt to the ever-changing online landscape. Using a web-based approach, she turned her love for the ocean into a full-time gig as the paper’s beaches reporter. The unique beat allows her to delve into coastal culture by covering everything from the countless events dotting the 42 miles of coastline, to the business climate of the surf industry, to the fascinating wildlife that shows up on the shores. Most importantly, she takes pride in telling stories of the people who make the beaches so special, whether they are surfers using the ocean to heal, or the founders of major surf brands who helped spawn an entire culture, or people who tirelessly fight to keep the coast pristine and open for all to enjoy. She’s a world traveler who loves to explore the slopes during winter months or exotic surf spots around the globe. When she’s not working, or maybe while she's researching a story, you can find her longboarding at her favorite surf spots at San Onofre or Doheny.